Imagine Asia with both Japan and China in shambles. Or the Americas in which both the United States of America and Brazil are limping. Or Europe in which both Germany and France are in doldrums. The result would be political, intellectual, and economic vacuum. And that is the situation in Africa.

When drugs and prostitution are counted in calculating GDP, one could ask why the items in the basket are not increased. Forced labor, human trafficking and illegal organ trade are also elements of the black market. If drugs and prostitution are counted in calculating GDP, should a country also count forced labor and human trafficking in calculating GDP?

Most of the laws in force in Germany today originated in Brussels. If an unpopular topic is rejected in the domestic arena, politicians frequently try to push it through via the EU. This often infringes the principle of subsidiarity, which stipulates that the EU should only handle what member states cannot handle themselves.

Canada will see timely benefits as global trade picks up. Prospects for the domestic economy are not strong, but exports are already rising nicely. Domestic weakening should help to free up capacity for exports, which is running pretty tight in some industries. In others, there is capacity to absorb growth.

Once every few months, the Canadian public is asked by one polling firm or another how it feels about a Canada-European Union free trade agreement. Consistently, between 70 and 80 per cent of respondents say they generally like the idea of a deal.

When concluded, the Canada-Japan EPA would create a year-on-year multi-billion-dollar gain for the Canadian economy. A joint study by Canada and Japan has estimated the annual boost to Canada's gross domestic product from an EPA would be between $3.9 billion and $9.3 billion, while the gains for Japan's economy are estimated to be between $4.5 billion and $5.1 billion.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said her government would support the proposed Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) -- with conditions. The province should be compensated by the federal government, said the Premier, for an expected nine-figure increase in drug costs, as well as the effect of subsidized European cheese imports on local dairy farmers and possible hardship at Ontario wineries. Think about that for a second. The feds will hand money over to Ontario, who will in turn hand much of it over to pharmaceutical giants.

Bulgarian authorities have confirmed and have transmitted evidence of Hezbollah terrorist complicity to European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels next Monday to determine whether Hezbollah should be designated as a terrorist organization.

These flows provide us with access to key resources, fast-growing markets and allow for production systems that are better aligned to country or regional economic attributes owing to the efficiencies of global supply chains. As such, it is essential to keep a close eye on global investment movements. What can we say about recent activity?

Feminism is about equality and choices. And the unfortunate facts are that women who want to be successful must decide whether to have a family if they are ambitious and, if they do, how to juggle both. Both Thatcher and Merkel had husbands who encouraged and supported them.

The economic and financial meteorite that crashed into the world economy back in 2008 left a massive crater. Since then, policymakers have been scrambling to fill it in. All the while, many have cast a wistful, sardonic or resentful eye at a glaring anti-crater: the mountain of money accumulating on corporate balance sheets.

So the Cyprus story is more than just another profligate nation begging for help. This mess may force the unification of this island, and tapping of its resources, at long last for the betterment of all its citizens. It may stop the takeover of a nation inside the EU by Russian bad guys.

A couple of days ago, a friend sent me a video of Nigel Farage speaking at the European Parliament. I hit "play" expecting the general "as polls show..." but before Farage was half-way through his speech, my sides were splitting. It was the greatest and most eloquent utterance on the topic of the EU I have heard from any British public figure since Sir Jimmy Goldsmith spoke at a conference in 1996.

Today, Canadian Ukrainians should be thinking about the leader of the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko, the braided once-prime minister of the Ukraine, who is currently on a hunger strike, and being beaten in her prison cell.

We are facing a climate crisis, and we have a moral responsibility to take action by finding ways to move away from coal, oil, and gas, and towards a clean, safe, and renewable energy future. The European Union is trying to do just that, and the Canadian government should redirect its efforts towards cleaning up its own act, rather than trying to prevent Europe from doing the right thing.